Someone
found a wagon tire in the desert and the area surrounding
it became knows as “Wagontire”.
Romantics speculate that the wheel came from a wagon train
that was attacked
by Indians, but no one really knows why the relic was left
behind. Another mystery is the history of 49 three-inch
cannon balls that were found between Wagontire and Riley
in 1978.

Before
1900, a German named Anton Egli settled on a ranch near Wagontire
Mountain. The family moved to North
Hollywood
in the 1920’s. Joe Egli (Anton’s son) became the
senior casting director for Paramount Studios during the heyday
of large movie companies. Ed Egli (another son) drove the multi-horse
teams in many early day cowboy westerns. As people settled
the high desert area, they received their mail at the Egli
ranch. Later, the ranch became an official post office called
Egli. In 1919 the post office name was changed from Egli to
Wagontire.

Theonly
good water for miles around was from springs on Wagontire
Mountain, which led to waterhole feuds, gun battles and
murder. The early pioneers were tough, uncompromising people,
they did whatever they considered necessary to survive in
a hard land.